Prep football: Marin Catholic wins fourth consecutive MCAL title

When the Marin Catholic High football team opened its MCAL season in September, the Wildcats allowed Justin-Siena to march upfield and score a touchdown on the first possession of the game.

It would be the only time Marin Catholic trailed during the league season.

Saturday, Marin Catholic completed its fourth consecutive unbeaten MCAL campaign with a 42-3 victory over Tam in Kentfield as Akili Terry continued his impressive season with three rushing touchdowns and Jared Goff added two touchdown throws and a touchdown run.

"We had some hiccups in the first half," said Terry, whose description could apply to the Wildcats' nine penalties for 86 yards, the three interceptions that Goff suffered, a fumble on a handoff from Goff to Terry — or all of the above as Marin Catholic led only 14-3. "That probably wasn't our best game. But after halftime, we talked over what we were going to do and we got our business done."

"They had a lot to do with it in the first half," MC coach Mazi Moayed said, crediting Tam for his team's early struggles. "I also think, us having a week off, it took us a little while to get going, we had a little rust to shake off."

Marin Catholic (9-1, 7-0) asserted itself early in the third quarter, beginning the sharpening of its play when Louis Lemerle picked a shotgun snap by Tam out of midair after it deflected away from Red-tailed Hawks quarterback Al Gant Van Vliet. Lemerle raced 35 yards to the Tam 15-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Terry that boosted the Wildcats' lead to 21-3.

"The second half we didn't come out with the same intensity," said Tam tight end/linebacker Sel Butler. "Some guys got injured, we had to fill in those positions and we just lost a little bit of focus."

Marin Catholic's focus was certainly fine in the second half. The Wildcats limited the Hawks (6-4, 3-4) to one first down in the second half while Marin Catholic piled up nine en route to scoring 28 points. It didn't help Tam's cause that Gant Van Vliet may have suffered a concussion that could potentially keep him sidelined for the Hawks' North Coast Section playoff opener next weekend.

"We had a great first half, I thought we played really well," Tam coach Jon Black said. "Then we lost our quarterback and our whole offense kind of sputtered to nothing. So it was a lot of three-and-outs, a lot of three-and-outs, so that was tough."

"As a defense we aim for a shutout and do the best we can," Marin Catholic linebacker Alex Poksay said. "And I feel like our defense plays great. Our defensive line is quick off the ball, they've been doing a great job all year, our linebackers are playing fast and our defensive backs are ball-hawking and it's great to see. Everyone has a great mentality of pursuit and that's what we thrive on — pursuit."

In part because of that defense, the Wildcats are now positioned to chase an NCS Division III title. They will learn their seed — likely No. 1 or No. 2 — when the NCS brackets are released Sunday.

Tam, too, figures to be part of the D-III playoff field. But the Hawks won't have it easy, with Black guessing his team will be a No. 13 or 14 seed.

"We'll be on the road away somewhere with no quarterback," Black said. "But we'll be ready to go."